Construction autonomy firm Built Robotics, the inventor of the robotic Exosystem, has acquired fellow Californian company Roin Technologies, the maker of an automated concrete power trowel.

The acquisition should grow the capabilities of Built’s engineering team and accelerate technological developments to expand automation beyond construction into new applications and markets.

“Since their founding, Roin’s team has pushed the boundaries of construction autonomy, which has created a unique expertise in our industry,” said Noah Ready-Campbell, CEO of Built Robotics. “With Roin joining Built, the combined teams will continue developing new autonomous construction applications, and customers can expect to see robotic applications expanding beyond earthmoving.”

As part of the acquisition, Roin’s CEO Jim Delaney will join Built’s engineering team. The technologies underlying Roin’s automated power trowel and shotcrete robot will be integrated into Built’s software and hardware systems, and engineering efforts will be focused on Built’s existing and future product lines.

“We see joining Built as the next step in Roin’s story,” said Delaney. “I have always admired what Built has launched and how they’ve moved the construction industry forward in adopting new technologies, and I am excited to have the opportunity to join their team.”

With shortages in labour and declining productivity rates, construction costs worldwide have slowed the building of critical infrastructure, clean energy, transportation and housing projects. Roin will join Built in continuing the mission of bringing autonomy to the construction industry and helping bring modern tools into the hands of skilled workers.

Concrete is the second-most used substance in the world after water. Roin Technologies automates repetitive and dangerous tasks to unlock productivity and time-savings within the concrete industry. With products focusing on structural shotcrete and concrete floor finishing, Roin enables contractors to accelerate schedules and keep their workers safe.

As the inventor of the world’s first autonomy system for excavators, the Exosystem, Built transforms excavators into fully autonomous trenching robots. Exosystems are deployed across the $1tn earthmoving industry, building critical infrastructure in energy, telecoms and more.